Falling Down

 

 

Create your own review

Falling Down (1993)
Crime, Drama, Thriller, 113 minutes
Directed by Joel Schumacher
Starring Michael Douglas, Robert Duvall and Barbara Hershey

Here's a movie that has never received the credit it deserves. It opens with William Foster (Douglas) stuck in a traffic jam on the freeway. It's a hot day and he's starting to become agitated. Eventually he cracks and just abandons the car. The first part of the story shows us a variety of encounters which don't improve his mood.

He enters a convenience store to get change for the phone, but the insists that he buys something first. The price of soda is too high so Foster questions it. When the owner produces a baseball bat, Foster decides that the line has been crossed. He snatches the bat and smashes up part of the store. His frustration increases when a couple of gang members demand his briefcase as a toll for trespassing on their turf. They don't realize that he has a bat.

Friends of the gang members decide to teach Foster a lesson, but their plans go awry and he's suddenly in possession of an automatic weapon. You can see how simple the plot is up to this point. When he tries to buy something from the breakfast menu at a burger restaurant, he's told that he's too late. He missed the deadline by a minute, but the person serving him won't budge. Foster pulls a weapon and insists. When he receives the meal, he looks at it in disgust. It doesn't look anything like the picture on the wall.

In Foster's mind, he's not doing anything wrong. In fact, we can probably sympathize with him at the start of the movie. How would you react in those situations? I'm usually very laid back, but when someone wrongs me, something inside me rears up. Foster reacts in a believable way.

The clever thing about the movie is that it gradually increases the severity of the situations. At what point do Foster's actions switch from being justified or understandable to being over the top? Where do you draw the line?

I won't reveal how far Foster goes, but it's interesting to see how he thinks. We learn something about his life that makes this particular day something special. When you see what that is, it's easy to see why he started down the path he chose. Michael Douglas delivers one of his best performances as Foster and is ably supported by Robert Duvall who plays a cop that tries to track Foster down. The tension slowly increases throughout the movie in an intelligent way and it's always a compelling story.

Falling Down is one of those stories that split my sympathies with every scene. The film begins by portraying the sensation of a very hot Los Angeles day where everyone has reached their limits and many have surpassed it. The only real good guys in the story are Prendergast and Sandra but I couldn't help but sympathize with Bill Foster's plight as he desperately tried to be there for his daughter's birthday. This is a well written, well cast, and well acted story that held my interest to the very end. It's a movie that makes it very difficult to take a pause for a bathroom break because you really want to see what goes down next.

Very satisfied... was posted as used `like new' and it is > like new. Shipping was quick ... no complains... good Buy!
Thanks

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review

› See all 137 customer reviews on Amazon.ca

 

4.0 out of 5 stars Stress test
Excellent entertainment - comedic and poignant. Good performance by Douglas. Glimpse into the stress of modern-day America and the mental challenges that some people and their... Read more

Published on Aug 18 2009 by G. E. Dell

5.0 out of 5 stars a social commentary on our times(with a searing performance by Michael Douglas)
wow.this movie blew me away.it was relevant then,and it's even more
relevant today.Michael Douglas gives a searing performance as an
ordinary man who has a really bad... Read more

Published on Feb 1 2008 by falcon

3.0 out of 5 stars Not Bad.
'Falling Down' is movie about a man who finally snaps because he feels his society, family, and friends have cheated him. Read more

Published on July 2 2004 by Dhaval Vyas

5.0 out of 5 stars RIGHT IDEA, WRONG EXECUTION
As we journey with Michael Douglas in this excellent film, cant' we all identify with his frustration and anger? 85 cents for a can of soda? Read more

Published on Jun 30 2004 by Michael Butts

3.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining but Flawed by a Substandard Director
Joel Schumacher, the director best known for putting nipples on the Batsuit, and thus ruining a perfectly good franchise, is an expert at taking something good and turning it into... Read more

Published on Jun 28 2004 by Brennon A. Slattery

4.0 out of 5 stars The ugly reality of L.A.
Here's the story of a simple man (played very well by Michael Douglas) who's life is crumbling around him. Read more

Published on Jun 17 2004 by slider

5.0 out of 5 stars How two different people respond to the horror of urban life
I reviewed this movie 5 years ago for VHS and had not visited LA at that time. 5 years and 2 visits hence, I felt the need to review this feature again for DVD. Read more

Published on May 30 2004 by James Houston

5.0 out of 5 stars Funny Movie Full STop
Great Movie !!

Best Line: "I'm an American, you're a sick scum bag."
Had me in stitches.

Published on April 16 2004 by dafid

4.0 out of 5 stars A confused and fascinating movie
"Falling Down" is a sly combination of a social commentary, a conventional action movie, and a sad character study. Read more

Published on April 13 2004 by M. Casarino

5.0 out of 5 stars great movie!!!!
This is a thoroughly entertaining movie,although some viewers may be offended by some racial references and foul language. Read more

Published on April 5 2004 by Benjamin Wilkerson

Search Customer Reviews
Only search this product's reviews

› See all 137 customer reviews on Amazon.ca

Search Listmania!